BERKELEY - The Cal football team, which doesn't seem to know what kind of season it's going to have, gets its highest-profile chance yet to make an impression when No. 15 Virginia visits Memorial Stadium for the first time on Saturday afternoon. If the inclination is to wonder if this is when the Bears (5-3, 2-2 ACC) head south for good with a third loss in four games, there is another side to the story.
ORANGEBURG, S.C. -- The NCAA owes a former college football player and his wife $18 million, a South Carolina jury decided while finding college sports' major governing body negligent in failing to warn the player about the long-term effects of concussions. Following a civil trial that wrapped up late last week, Orangeburg County jurors awarded $10 million to 68-year-old Robert Geathers, who played at South Carolina State University from 1977 to 1980 as a defensive end.
HOUSTON - Quinton Jackson tallied career highs of 256 combined yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winning score in the second overtime, to lead Rice to a 37-34 win over UConn on Saturday and snap a three-game losing streak. Jackson broke out for a 73-yard rushing touchdown and a 75-yard receiving score in the second quarter. He scored another rushing touchdown in the first overtime, then broke a tackle in the second overtime to win the game for Rice (4-4) on a 23-yard score.
Oregon starting quarterback Dante Moore exited Saturday's game against Wisconsin with an apparent injury to his nose in the third quarter at Autzen Stadium. Moore was sent to the injury tent and was replaced by sophomore Brock Thomas. Moore appeared to be struck in the face when he was tackled after a designed run. Television cameras caught Moore holding his nose, which was bloodied, on his way to the sideline.
Missouri quarterback Beau Pribula was carted off the field with an air cast on his left leg after he was awkwardly tackled on a fourth-and-goal play in the third quarter of the No. 15 Tigers' game at No. 10 Vanderbilt on Saturday. Pribula, a senior from York, Pennsylvania, faked a pitch to tailback Kevin Coleman Jr. and kept the ball. Vanderbilt edge rusher Miles Capers and others stopped Pribula short of the end zone, and Pribula's left leg was bent awkwardly as he went to the ground.
If you're a college football team enduring a listless start to the season, there's a decent chance by now that your fans have attempted to generate a spark by going shirtless. First it was Oklahoma State's Section 321 army in Week 7. Soon after, Wisconsin students unleashed their own shirtless section in a blowout loss to Ohio State, with UCLA also getting in on the action.
By that date in 2025, there already were 11 programs -- including seven major conference teams -- that dismissed their coach. Those seven openings far outpace the final statistics from 2024, when just three coaches were fired for performance -- Purdue's Ryan Walters, UNC's Mack Brown and West Virginia's Neal Brown. Since this season started, there have been six firings at major conference schools -- UCLA, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Penn State and Florida.
Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located behind the footlocker on the "College GameDay" bus where Nick Saban keeps his secret stash of "Anchor Down" Vanderbilt football apparel, we are beginning to worry that perhaps those of you who visit these rankings, as the kids say, "on the regular" might be like those who benefited from Saban's time in Tuscaloosa. You're getting a little spoiled.
The job has its clear upsides -- location to recruits, fan and financial support, the ability to compete for national championships -- but the coaching churn in Gainesville is undeniable. Meyer won big there but only for a relatively short period. Florida had three straight AP top-6 finishes under Charley Pell and Galen Hall in the mid 1980s. Otherwise, Steve Spurrier is the only coach to build a sustainable winner with the Gators.
Gunner Stockton passed for 289 yards and four touchdowns, including three to tight end Lawson Luckie, and No. 9 Georgia overcame Trinidad Chambliss and No. 5 Mississippi's powerful offense to rally for a 43-35 win over the Rebels on Saturday. Georgia (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) rallied after trailing 35-26 at the start of the fourth quarter. Stockton's 7-yard touchdown pass to Luckie with 7:29 remaining gave Georgia a 40-35 lead.
Texas Tech defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard underwent ankle surgery on Thursday in Dallas and is out indefinitely, sources confirmed to ESPN. Gill-Howard, a Northern Illinois transfer who has been a standout for the No. 7 Red Raiders and one of the top defenses in college football, suffered the injury during their win over Kansas last Saturday. The injury has not been determined to be a season-ending one at this time, sources told ESPN, and there's hope Gill-Howard could return for the postseason.
It's not enough to simply list off King's stat line, which is impressive. To fully appreciate what he brings to Georgia Tech requires watching him play and the utter physicality and relentless drive he brings to every snap. Coach Brent Key joked King doesn't really get going until there's a little blood on his jersey, and that's probably about the highest compliment you can give him. -- Hale
With regard to the present, this could be the last time the two historic programs meet in Notre Dame Stadium for the foreseeable future -- the two teams haven't agreed on a schedule past this season. USC head coach Lincoln Riley said he was hopeful the series continues in July, but there has been a seeming ambivalence from the Trojans on the rivalry's current setup
Indiana's groundbreaking run under second-year coach Curt Cignetti has been one of the biggest stories in college football since last season. The Hoosiers went into the Oregon game 0-46 on the road against top-five teams and, before Sunday, had never been ranked higher than No. 4. Their three first-place votes are their most in a poll since they got the same number when they were ranked No. 6 on Nov. 5, 1945.
At the midpoint of the season, Penn State has three losses, Clemson has three losses, Texas is trying to claw its way back into the playoff conversation, and undefeated Indiana is ... a top five team?! "This showed the country we're a real team," Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza told reporters after the Hoosiers' 30-20 win at Oregon. "We're not just a one-hit wonder." Separation has started to occur, true playoff contenders have begun to emerge through statement wins,
